Report: Conflicting reports indicating Trevor Thompson’s NBA draft decision still up in the air

Jacob Myers, Nicholas McWilliams
Sat, 11 Mar 2017 19:55:14 +0000
Basketball, Men's Basketball, News, Sports, Buckeyes, NBA Draft, Ohio State Men's Basketball, osu, Trevor Thompson

Ohio State redshirt junior center Trevor Thompson catches the ball on the block against Northwestern’s Dererk Pardon on Jan. 22 at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Jacob Myers | Assistant Sports Editor

Indianapolis Star’s prep sports writer Kyle Neddenriep reported Ohio State redshirt junior center Trevor Thompson would be declaring for the NBA Draft, but other reports are now saying the Buckeyes might still have their big man next season.

Although Neddenriep first reported Thompson would leave, the Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy refuted the claim, and said Thompson’s father said the center would wait until after the season to make a decision.

OSU could still play in the National Invitational Tournament if selected on Sunday.

Former Ben Davis standout and Ohio State junior Trevor Thompson will declare for NBA draft, per his family.

— Kyle Neddenriep (@KyleNeddenriep) March 11, 2017

Despite the disappointing season for the OSU men’s basketball team had in 2016-17, one of the lone standouts was Thompson.

He redshirted his first season in Columbus after transferring from Virginia Tech after his freshman season. In his redshirt sophomore year with the Scarlet and Gray in 2015-16, Thompson averaged just 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. This season, Thompson improved to 10.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest, becoming one of the premier centers in the Big Ten.

Thompson registered 10 double-doubles and grabbed at least 15 rebounds on four occasions.

After last season, Thompson took advantage of a new NCAA rule that allowed draft-eligible players to declare for the draft, but withdraw at any point and retain college eligibility, so long as the player didn’t hire an agent.

OSU has two other centers on the roster in freshman Micah Potter and redshirt sophomore Dave Bell, but it’s likely that 2017 incoming freshman Kaleb Wesson will immediately replace Thompson should he not return to OSU.

The Lantern is working to independently confirm.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with conflicting reports. It was initially reported that Thompson had declared for the NBA draft.